How We Help
Independent advice on Heartland and SBS reverse mortgages, a written comparison for your age and property, and the application managed through to settlement if you decide to go ahead.
See how the advice worksWhat A Reverse Mortgage Is And How It Works In New Zealand
You own your home. A lender registers a mortgage over it and advances you money, either as a lump sum, a regular monthly amount, or a reserve you draw on when you need it.
No repayments are required. Interest is added to the balance each month instead, so the loan grows while you live there. When the home is eventually sold, the loan plus the accumulated interest is repaid from the sale, and whatever is left goes to you or your estate.
The full picture, including how the balance compounds and what happens to your family’s inheritance, is in my complete guide to reverse mortgages in New Zealand.
The interest rate is floating and sits above standard home loan rates. Heartland's rate is 8.25% and SBS Unwind's is 7.99% as at October 2026.
How much you can borrow depends on your age, not your income. At 60 that is usually around 10 to 20 percent of the home's value, rising as you get older.
Both lenders promise you can stay in the home for life and that you will never owe the lender a cent beyond what the home sells for.
Who Reverse Mortgages Suit, And Who They Do Not
Most of the people I talk to fit one of a handful of situations.
A couple in their seventies in a paid-off home on the North Shore, living on NZ Super, with a bathroom that needs redoing and no savings to do it. A widow in her eighties who wants to stay in the house her children grew up in but cannot keep up with rates, insurance and maintenance from a single pension. A son or daughter calling on behalf of a parent who has started falling behind on bills and will not hear of selling.
In those cases a modest reverse mortgage, drawn down slowly, often makes sense.
It makes less sense when you are 60 and planning to borrow the maximum, when you expect to sell within a few years anyway, or when the real goal is to give a large sum to the children. There are usually better ways to do those things, and I will tell you if that is the case.
Heartland Or SBS: How I Compare Them For You
Two lenders write reverse mortgages in New Zealand. Heartland Bank has the larger book and has offered the product since 2014. SBS Bank’s version is called SBS Unwind.
They differ on the amount you can borrow at each age, minimum property values, the fees they charge, how the drawdown facility works, how equity protection is structured, and whether they will lend on a second home or rental. One may say no to a property the other accepts, which is common with apartments, cross-leases and lifestyle blocks.
I deal with both. Because I am not employed by either, I can put the two side by side for your property and your age and show you where the differences land in dollars.
How Reverse Mortgage Advice Works With Me
The process is deliberately slow. You are putting a mortgage on your home in your seventies or eighties and there is no reason to rush it.
1.
Find out whether it is the right tool
A chat by phone, at my Takapuna office or at your kitchen table about what you need the money for, how long you plan to stay, and what else is available to you.
2.
Compare Heartland and SBS in writing
A written comparison of both lenders for your age and property, with the balance projected at five, ten and fifteen years at today's rate and a higher one.
3.
Take it to your family and your solicitor
Both lenders require independent legal advice. I would rather you took a month to decide than signed in a week.
4.
I run the application through to settlement
If you go ahead, I prepare the application, deal with the lender and the valuer, and stay in touch afterwards for top-ups and changes.
I am paid a fixed referral fee by the lender when a loan settles, so my advice costs you nothing directly.
Understand It Properly Before You Talk To Anyone
Eligibility And Borrowing
How Much Can You Borrow With A Reverse Mortgage?
Reverse mortgage borrowing limits in NZ by age, from 20% at 60 to 50% at 90, with a table for Heartland and SBS, worked examples on Auckland house values, and why borrowing less usually wins.
Costs And Risks
Reverse Mortgage Interest Rates In NZ: What They Are And Why They Are Higher
Current reverse mortgage interest rates in New Zealand from Heartland and SBS, why they sit above home loan rates, what floating-only means over 15 years and how a one percent gap plays out.
Costs And Risks
Reverse Mortgage Pros And Cons For New Zealanders Over 60
The real advantages and disadvantages of a reverse mortgage in NZ, from a licensed adviser: what works in its favour, what catches people out, and the pros that only apply to some situations.
Family, Estate And Exit
What Happens To Your Home And Your Family's Inheritance With A Reverse Mortgage
What happens to a reverse mortgage when you die or move into care: the 12-month window, whether the children can keep the house, equity protection, and how to have the conversation before you sign.
Lenders
Heartland vs SBS Reverse Mortgages: An Adviser's Comparison
Heartland Bank and SBS Unwind compared by an adviser who works with both: rates, fees, age limits, borrowing percentages, property rules, drawdown options, guarantees and which tends to suit whom.
Understanding The Product
Is A Reverse Mortgage A Good Idea? Who It Suits And Who It Does Not
A reverse mortgage suits some New Zealanders over 60 and is a costly mistake for others. The situations where it usually makes sense, the ones where it does not, and the question most people forget to ask.
Talk To Oliver Before You Talk To A Lender
The lenders are good at what they do, and their staff will explain their own product clearly. What they cannot do is tell you whether the other lender would suit you better, or whether you should be doing this at all. It is all set out in my disclosure statement.